It is desirable to increase the efficiency of silicon solar cells in order to produce more power and reduce the cost of generating solar energy per unit area. One of the most effective ways to improve solar cell efficiency is to situate all electrical contacts on the back surface of the solar cell away from the incident solar radiation. Without a front-side metallization grid the entire top surface area of the solar cell can absorb incident solar radiation. An example of this type of solar cell is the interdigitated back-contact solar cell, which can yield median solar cell efficiencies greater than 23%. However, the process for fabricating interdigitated back-contact solar cells is more complex and expensive compared to conventional solar cell fabrication processes with front-side metallization grid and a back-side aluminum back-surface field.